Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report
July 30, 2012
1. Upcoming School Contact
Space Jam 6, which will be held at the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum in
Rantoul, Illinois, has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Sunday, August 5 at 10:06
UTC. The Space Jamboree Workshop is the Midwest's largest technology
oriented gathering of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. The theme this year is
"The History of Aviation." Subjects that will be taught and merit badges
that may be earned include the following: Space Exploration, Radio,
Aviation, Electronics, Robotics, Soil/Water Conservation, Environmental
Science, Energy, Metalwork, Computers, Geology, Nuclear Science, Engineering
and Inventing. The Jamboree is working with the University of Illinois,
Purdue, and DePauw Universities (high altitude balloon launches, FIRST
Robotics, Nuclear Engineering) to help Scouts plan for the future.
2. Girls from WE at RIT Camp Speak with Sunita Williams in Space
Fifth and sixth grade girls attending the "Everyday Engineering" camp at
Kate Gleason College, sponsored by the Women in Engineering @ Rochester
Institute of Technology (WE at RIT) in New York took part in an Amateur Radio
on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Monday, July 23. The
girls talked with on-orbit astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB who currently
holds the record for longest space flight by a woman. The contact
highlighted camp activities that focus on engineering-based themes to teach
the engineering design process through hands-on build and design activities.
This year's camp theme is "World in Motion." Also attending the contact
were students from the grade 7-9 camp (held two weeks ago), the students
attending this week's RoboCamp, and the Lil' Kids on Campus Space Week kids.
To view video of the contact, see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdlpcw_VD4M
3. Virginia Air and Space Center Contact Successful
On Thursday, July 26, Sunita Williams, KD5PLB held an Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) contact with youth volunteers from the
Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton, Virginia. The volunteers give
tours, provide demonstrations to the public and support the center in its
efforts to educate the public. The center has its own amateur radio exhibit
and during these summer months, it also welcomes NASA exhibits Destination
Station, the Orion Test Vehicle and the Mars Science Laboratory.
4. AMSAT News Service on ARISS
The July 29 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service
bulletin (ANS-211) announced the return of Frank Bauer to the position of
VP-Human Spaceflight. Bauer will resume this position on August 1. Also
given in the report was a status on the new Ericsson that will replace the
old VHF radio in the Columbus Module. The new radio is currently scheduled
to launch on 49P in November. For more information, see:
http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000637.html